Death and A Reagan
by MarinePixie
Summary: Coming from the infamous Reagan family wasn't always easy for Phoebe Reagan as her brothers were cops, her dad was the commissioner and her grandpa was a retired cop. Bringing dates home had been a nightmare and yet Phoebe hadn't strayed too far from the family business as she dealt with the dead as a medical examiner. Phoebe may not be a cop but she was still a Reagan.
1. Chapter 1

Insanity. That was perhaps the only way that Phoebe Reagan could adequately describe her family as whilst she adored them all, they were crazy. How else could you explain why the topic of discussion over the dining table was about the fact that her brother Danny put a suspects head down a toilet to get him to confess to where he was keeping the little girl he had kidnapped? The joys of coming from a very outspoken and opinionated Irish-American family who were knee deep in law enforcement. The Reagan family had a long history of serving the NYPD which went back three generations starting with Henry Reagan, Phoebe's grandfather who had become a cop in 1952 and eventually became commissioner. Next came Phoebe's father Frank Reagan, the current commissioner who had followed in his father's footsteps and his sons would do the same. Phoebe's two elder brothers, Danny and Joe were cops, however Joe had died in the line of duty fifteen months ago. Now Jamie, Phoebe's younger brother had given up his law career and had entered the family business as the Reagan family often joked. Only Phoebe and her older sister Erin, didn't follow the family tradition of putting on the family uniform but that didn't mean that they weren't Reagan's, they just served the city in different ways. Phoebe was a NYC medical examiner and Erin was an assistant district attorney who was the one assigned to this kidnapping case and needless to say she wasn't happy about the toilet dunking incident. Danny's little coerced confession was causing a lot of problems which was threatening to wreck the entire case.

"Your mom's riding on her high horse, huh?" Danny questioned as he appeared in the dining room and took a seat next to his wife Linda. No doubt catching the end of Erin and their grandpa disagreeing about Danny's methods. Phoebe knew well enough that this wasn't going to end well as Danny and Erin weren't going to back down. Both of the them were stubborn old mules, stuck in their ways and because of that they tended to butt heads a lot. Danny was the kind of cop who would do whatever it took to get a collar, sometimes bending the rules such as putting a suspects head down the toilet. Whereas Erin was pretty straight laced and by the book lawyer but a damn good one at that.

"Don't make this about me. I'm not the one that slapped some guy around." Erin retorted and Phoebe kept her head down as she went about helping herself to food as she didn't want to be dragged into any of this. Phoebe had her own problems to deal with at the moment without getting pulled into tolietgate.

"What do you know about it?" Danny questioned, no doubt taking offence to Erin's statement.

"Dad stuck somebody's head in a toilet?" Sean, Danny's younger son attempted to question only to be shushed by his mother Linda. Right now wasn't the time to be asking question, it was best for everyone's sake that Erin and Danny could get this out of their systems now so they could get back to their family dinner.

"I know you're supposed to be enforcing the law, not making it up." Erin stated and Phoebe locked eyes with her grandfather Henry who just rolled his eyes. Just like Danny, Henry Reagan had been an old school police officer and had some sometimes toed the line to do what was right. As such he tended to side with Danny when it came to such matters like this which irked Erin occasionally. Things like this were to be expected as the family business was often a subject discussed over Sunday lunch when they came back from mass. Normal families probably talked about other things but for Phoebe, this was normal for her. Although Phoebe couldn't freely discuss the finer details of her work because of her young nephews who didn't really understand the exact nature of her line of work. Plus some people tended to be put off their food by talk of dead bodies and performing autopsies. Not to mention Phoebe sometimes got so caught up in the gory details that Danny would comment that she was going to that dark and creepy place. It was a contradiction of some sorts as Phoebe was described by her father as being the most cheerful and optimistic person he knew despite being constantly surrounded by death.

"You have no idea what goes on.  
>You only know what you think you know." Danny barked and Erin didn't flinch but Phoebe knew that the comment had stung slightly. She knew from private conversations with her elder sister, that sometimes Erin felt left out as she wasn't part of the Reagan cops. Like she was on the outside of some inside joke and Phoebe understood that as even though her work did involve working with the police. She wasn't a cop, Phoebe wasn't a Reagan cop. In her family it seemed to be some kind of brotherhood, even more so since Jamie had joined the ranks. So sometimes it was pretty lonely but Phoebe and Erin had each other. So things were a little less lonely.<p>

"The laws are there for a reason."

"Yeah, to protect the criminals." Danny scoffed in response whilst Phoebe started to eat her dinner, her brother and sister could continue this argument all they liked but that didn't mean that she was going to let her dinner get cold.

"No, to protect society from a police state."

"Blah, blah, blah."

"Such a jerk."

"Hey, screw you, Erin."

"Screw you."

"Screw you."

The arguing continued until their father finally had enough and put his foot down. It looked like things had calmed down but before Phoebe knew it, half the family had gone leaving just Phoebe, Jamie, Frank and Henry at the table. No matter what the disagreement what was going on at the moment, Phoebe wasn't going to let it stop her from eating her dinner. There was nothing she loved better more than a roast dinner after Sunday mass. Things would work out eventually as despite the arguments and difference of opinions, they were a family. Everyone would be back round the table when things had settled down or when they got hungry. Whichever came first... Phoebe knew better than to get involved with her siblings problems as she had her own ones to deal with right now. Arguments like this always came and went because the Reagan's talked about pretty much everything and not everyone shared the same opinion. It was all part of the insanity that Phoebe called her family.

"You've kept pretty quiet down your end on the table Bee? What do you make of all of this?" Frank asked as he started passing out the beef and Phoebe couldn't help but smile at her old dad. It didn't matter that she wasn't a cop or a lawyer. She was a member of this family and her opinion mattered just as much as everyone else's. Phoebe took a baited breath and waited a moment before she spoke as she knew that her grandfather wasn't going to be the biggest fan of what she was going to say.

"It's complicated. As a physician I understand what Danny did as it is vital that as a diabetic Maria gets her insulin. If it wasn't for what Danny did, I could have ended up a child on my table. But whilst I say that, I also acknowledge that Danny did something incredibly stupid as now the kidnapper may walk because Danny stuck his head down the toilet to find out where the girl was. That puts the entire case case at risk and if he walks because of Danny's actions, what is to stop him from going after another girl? She may not be so lucky. Danny is a good cop but he went too far, he needs to realise that his actions will be called into question when it comes to prosecutions. He needs to be mindful of that and Erin has a right to be annoyed as she has to deal with the fallout..." Phoebe revealed with a weak smile, before taking a sip of water.

"I've said this once and I'll say it again, Danny did the right thing-" Henry began.

"But at what cost Grandpa? And to what extent does Danny feel any responsibility? We all heard that comment he made to Erin about would she do the same thing if Nicky was taken and Danny has said he would do it again. I understand he saved a young girl's life but did he have to stick the perps head down the toliet? That was way too far and Danny needs to admit that. The law is something he is supposed to enforce, not make up as he see's fit because of a set of circumstances. It's there to protect us all and punish those who who have commutes criminal acts." Phoebe challenged to her grandfather and unlike her siblings, managed to keep her cool.

"I think we'll have to agree to disagree on this one kiddo." Henry stated with a warm laugh and Phoebe couldn't help but agree. They were at an impasse and neither of them were going to change their opinion on the matter anytime soon, so it was probably best if they moved on.

"So Pheebs, I haven't seen you around much this week apart from the ceremony. How's work?" Jamie asked moving things along ever so slightly.

"Shouldn't I be asking you that Jamie? You are the one with the new job and all but things are good on my end. We may be receiving yet another budget cut but we still have a lot of guests and continue to receive them. There hasn't been any sort of out there case but just give it time. There are some crazy folks out there and a lot of the time they end up on my table. But otherwise things have been as hectic as always at the M.E's office, had about nine bodies this week. Speaking of which if you ever want to swing by the office to check out a D.B to prepare yourself so you don't freak out in the field then feel free to. I promise I won't tell anyone if you barf and I also promise that I won't pull out any organs from a DB's chest." Phoebe offered with a bright smile as she continued to eat her dinner. Unlike a lot of people, Phoebe was very comfortable with death and as such she could talk about performing an autopsy in graphic detail whilst eating food. Her dad used to make a comment about Phoebe having an iron stomach. However as of late, Phoebe's stomach hadn't exactly been it's usual iron self.

"Umm... Let me get back to you on that one Phoebe." Jamie replied clearly not keen on the idea and Phoebe opened her mouth to laugh but she was hit with this strong and sudden wave of nausea that she had to grip the table.

"Phoebe, you okay?" Frank questioned and it took Phoebe a moment before she finally felt comfortable enough to answer.

"Yeah I'm fine dad, just feeling a bit light headed so I think I'll head out and grab some air. If you'll excuse me..." Phoebe wearily replied as she slowly got up from her chair and made her way out of the dining room and out towards the back porch. Trying her hardest to walk in a straight line as not to make her family think anything was wrong with her, when in reality Phoebe's whole world had been turned upside down and then some in the last few days. Once she had got outside Phoebe took a deep breath before leaning down and placing her hands on her knees and continuing to take some more deep breaths. If she kept this up then maybe she wouldn't feel sick, maybe Phoebe would feel better and get through the rest of this dinner in one piece before making her excuses and heading back home. After a moment Phoebe finally felt better, to the point here she moved in order to sit down on the porch steps. She just needed a few minutes out here before she could go back inside.

"I though I'd find you out here, I always found out here to be a good place to think."

At the sound of her father's voice Phoebe couldn't but wearily laugh as there had never been a place to hide in this house and she glanced up in time to see her father take a seat beside her before handing Phoebe a glass of water. "Thanks dad..."

"You were always a terrible liar as a child Phoebe and you haven't gotten any better since then." Frank announced and Phoebe opened her mouth to argue but her father beat her to it. "I stopped by your office on Thursday to treat my youngest daughter to lunch and imagine my surprise when your boss tells me that you've taken a week off work for personal reasons. I don't know what it is but something is going on with you."

"You've always known me better than anyone else dad. I can't hide anything else from you." Phoebe wearily chuckled as she brushed a piece of her dark hair back behind her ear. She knew she was going to have to tell her dad before he figured it out for himself. Phoebe could only keep this to herself for a little while longer before it became obvious for the entire world to see.

"I'm pregnant dad, nine weeks to be in fact with a little bun in the oven." Phoebe quietly said but loud enough so that her father would be able to hear her. After the words had come out of her mouth Phoebe couldn't help but look at her hands as she wasn't sure how her dad would react to this news. Sure she wasn't sixteen and still in catholic school, Phoebe had just turned thirty one a few weeks ago and had a job and her own apartment. She was a grown with her life pretty much in order. But this was still pretty big news.

"How do you feel about this?" Frank asked after a moment and Phoebe looked over to her father.

"Terrified. I've always been content in being an aunt, I've never been in a real rush to settle down and add to the Reagan pack and then that damn stick said pregnant. I didn't trust the five pregnancy tests so I had a blood test and exam at my OB/GYN to confirm. I'm going to be mom. I keep telling myself that and it doesn't get any less scary." Phoebe wearily said.

"What does Ian think of the baby?" Frank asked referring to Phoebe's boyfriend of two years and be mere mention of him made her feel uneasy. Phoebe was pretty sure she could feel her blood pressure sky rocket at the mention of Ian's name and yet for some reason she laughed. God knows why but she laughed.

"That's the kicker dad, Ian left me when I told him I was pregnant. I always knew that he was slightly immature but he freaked out and bolted when I told him I was pregnant. From the few words that he managed to say, he was going on about how he wasn't ready and he couldn't be a dad. It just wasn't him. This was last Sunday when I came home from dinner and told him the news. Ian freaked and then bolted, which is why I took the week off work. I needed to pull myself together and wrap my head around all of this. Not only am I pregnant but my boyfriend is a bastard. He moved his things out of my place and that it's it. I believed in him, I loved him... I was such a fool to think I could have a life with him, to have what you and mom had."

"You are not a fool Phoebe, if anyone is a fool then it is Ian. But I promise you then everything will be okay." Frank assured Phoebe with a gentle squeeze of her hand which made her smile. No matter her old she got, her dad always knew what the right thing was to say.

"I know dad. Ian may have walked out on us be I'm not going to run after him and demand that he takes responsibility for our child. It's okay that he's made his choice because I have and I want this baby and I'm adjusting to the fact that I will be a single mother and will be doing this by myself-"

"-You won't ever be by yourself, I don't want you to ever think that you will be raising that child your carrying by yourself Phoebe. Your family will be here every step of the way. Ian has made the biggest mistake of his life walking out on the two of you." Frank said and Phoebe smiled before leaning her head against her father's shoulder. She could always depend on her good old dad when things got tough.

"Dad, can we keep this between ourselves for now? I will tell the rest of the family eventually but if I go back in there and tell them this then Danny will freak out when he finds out. No doubt he will hunt Ian down and stick his head down the toilet for abandoning me and Grandpa will be looking over his shoulder and telling him to keep Ian's head down the toliet for longer before bringing him up for air." Phoebe quipped finally seeing the humour and upside of Danny sticking a suspects head down the toilet.

"You got it Bumblebee but before we stop talking about this, I just want to say that you will be an amazing mother Phoebe." Frank assured in a warm manner as even though Phoebe was scared witless about being her a parent she had her family. Her dad had raised five kids with her mother and so he knew a thing or two about raising Reagan children.

"I had good coaches."


	2. Chapter 2

There was something oddly peaceful about working with the dead. Sure it wasn't the most glamorous job and sure Phoebe spent more time around the dead than she did with the living but she liked her job. Phoebe had been different from the most of her family in regards to she didn't always know what she had wanted to do with her life. Danny and Joe had always wanted to follow in their fathers footsteps and become cops, Erin had decided in her teens that she didn't want be a cop and instead wanted to become a lawyer. Jamie was just Jamie, he had spent years studying to become a lawyer only to decided after he had graduated that he actually wanted to be a cop. Phoebe had been different from the rest of her family as she had never really known what she wanted to do with her life. Things had always been so easy for Phoebe when it came to academics, she had always been a straight A student and because she never really felt challenged in school, Phoebe didn't have any real goals in life, no direction of any kind. Not until a conversation Phoebe had with her mother just before the start of her senior year, a few words idly spoken by her mother and then Phoebe suddenly had a direction in life – she wanted to become a doctor. She could have become any kind of doctor Phoebe had her pick of specialities but in the end she had gone pathology followed by a fellowship in forensic pathology. Sure Phoebe wouldn't earn as much money compared to if she had become a cardiologist and gone into private practice. But it had never been about the money as Phoebe wanted a career in something that would challenger her and being a medical examiner certainly did that.

Everyone thought death was the end but Phoebe's job had shown her that death sometimes wasn't all that simple. People didn't randomly die these days, there was always an answers and Phoebe's job was to find that answer. Phoebe liked the challenge but there was so much more to her job then cutting up bodies and rooting around in them and doing tests to find out a cause of death. It was also Phoebe's job to speak for the dead when they were unable to do so for themselves and Phoebe found a sense of nobility in that. Her job certainly wasn't the most pleasant, she had people of all ages on her table who had died in many different ways and Phoebe had a duty to each one of them. Such as the man on the slab right in front of her; Luka Mitchell, he was only 29 years old and had been brought in this morning after being shot in the middle of the subway. Anyone else would have said that he was too young to die but Phoebe knew that you were never too young to die. But a 29 year old gunned down in the middle of a day during rush hour was something else? Who knows what Luka Mitchell had done for someone to do this for him, luckily for Phoebe that wasn't her job.

"You wanted to see me Pheebs?"

Looking up from her clipboard Phoebe saw Danny walk into her autopsy with his typical cop swagger in all his detective first grade glory, followed by a tall woman, rather good looking and a sharp dresser who Phoebe took to be her brother's new partner. Who long she was here for was difficult to say as lately Danny had been going through a lot of temporary partners and so far none of them seemed to stick. "I did, but did you bring it?"

"One chilli cheese fries, a hamburger with extra pickles and a chocolate shake just like you requested. Now you going to tell me why you wanted me to come all the way down here?" Danny questioned as he handed over a paper takeway bag over the table to Phoebe who gleefully took it as she had been really craving chilli cheese fries all morning and she had asked Danny to bring her some on his way down to the M.E's office as she had some interesting developments for him on the Mitchell case.

"Ye of little patience brother, good things come to those who wait…" Phoebe gently scolded as she took the bag away and placed it on the desk which was situated a few meters away. Phoebe knew better than to start eating in here when Danny was around as he got creeped out by the fact that Phoebe was comfortable in eating in the morgue surrounded by dead bodies. Phoebe didn't really understand because the morgue was like the cleanest place ever, it was constantly being cleaned to the point where she could probably eat off of the floor because the morgue was so clean. Not that Phoebe ever would as even she found that to be weird but she wasn't against eating before starting an autopsy.

"Brother?"

"Detective Jackie Curatola I'd like you to meet my baby sister Dr. Phoebe Reagan." Danny said making the introductions and Phoebe offered Jackie a warm and welcoming smile.

"Reagan? Another one?" Jackie questioned and both Phoebe and Danny couldn't help but share amused glances with each other as responses like that weren't uncommon given that there was several Reagans in the NYPD, one in the DA's office and then Phoebe in the M.E's office. It was pretty unusual to have so many people from one family working within the justice system in New York. People did tend to cross paths with the Reagan at some point given their respective careers tended to meet a lot and so other cops, lawyers and medical examiners would come into contact with them. The Commissioner of the NYPD being their father certainly didn't help with the matter but Phoebe always took it in her stride as you couldn't pick your family and hers were a pretty decent bunch and they were all very good at their jobs. Even if there were occasional instances of someone losing their cool and sticking a suspects head under the toilet, however that was all water under the bridge now or rather water under the toilet as Danny had been able to nail his perp on different case. Things had ended well and Danny had avoided a suspension or an excessive force compliant in his file.

"Afraid so but don't worry Det. Curatola I am the more affable one of the bunch compared to my brother although he would probably tell you that I am the weird one of the Reagan bunch. I'm also the most liked put of us all as people hate cops and lawyers but no one ever hates the medical examiner." Phoebe quipped in amusement.

"Enough already Pheebs, now what do you have for us?" Danny questioned.

"Cause of death for your victim and you'll be happy to know that I am ruling it at homicide." Phoebe responded and she watched as Danny looked at her as if she had lost her mind and she knew what was coming next.

"You called us all the way down here to tell us that the case is a homicide? I could have told you that Phoebe! The guy has four bullets in his chest, of course it was going to be a homicide–" Danny began, fully going off on a rant as Phoebe predicted. Her brother was awfully predictable and was prone to occasionally jumping to conclusions at time and Phoebe used that to her advantage such as times like these. He had assumed that Luka Mitchell had died as result of the gunshot wounds that he had sustained but Phoebe knew not everything was what it seemed. Not everything was so obvious, sometimes you had to look beyond the surface or in Phoebe's case crack open chests and skulls to see what was under the surface.

"The gunshot wounds weren't what killed Luka Mitchell." Phoebe interrupted and immediately Danny fell quiet and Phoebe took this as a sign to carry on and explain the reason why she had called Danny down to the morgue. " You see Danny… This is why I'm the medical examiner and you are the cop as I have the brains and you have the brawn. But back to the point, Luka Mitchell would have most likely survived his injuries if it weren't for the fact that after he was shot, he fell to the ground and hit his head. Cause of death was a ruptured blood vessel at the base of the brain and here is where things get interesting. The vessel was already weakened before the time of death. During the autopsy I discovered that Mr. Mitchell's PH level in his blood was abnormally low, this kind of thing usually suggests renal failure."

"Was the vic in renal failure?" Jackie questioned.

"Well I took a sample of his kidney tissue and I found it to be loaded with calcium oxloate crystal, the oxolates are a tell tell sign of ethylene glycol poisoning. It's very lethal and your victim probably had no clue that he was being poisoned." Phoebe explained.

"Why not? And what exactly is ethylene glycol for those of us who don't have fancy degrees?" Danny questioned and Phoebe smiled, this was the part she loved the most. Explaining how she figured out the mystery of a baffling case. Well this case wasn't that baffling but it certainly wasn't what it had first appeared.

"If your going to poison someone then Ethylene glycol would be a good way t go about it as it is odourless, colourless, easily maskable and has a very sweet taste to it almost like syrup. Ethylene glycol is an organic compound which is primarily used as a raw material in the manufacture of polyester fibres and the fabric industry but it's better know to most people as antifreeze, it's a component of it but you get my point. The impact of his fall from the shooting may have klled your victim but he was running out of time anyway, Mr. Mitchell had 72 hours at most before his body would have shut down had the events of today not happen."

"So he was literally a dead man walking?" Danny asked and Phoebe sighed, she really hated that analogy but it seemed rather appropriate as it seemed like the man on her table had a outstanding appointment to end up on her table.

"Indeed." Phoebe began just as a wave of nausea swept over her and she had to try and force her gag reflex to try and keep itself under control, which was never going to work. The morning was still around and not confining itself to just morning, it was day and night much to Phoebe's irritation and the nausea never seemed to stop. So far Phoebe's experience of being pregnant wasn't a fun one as whilst she loved her job and was used to the smell of death, it seemed that her pregnant self couldn't cope with it. Already Phoebe had thrown up several times because the smell of bleach mixed with death was making her feel ill.

"Dr. Reagan are you okay?" Jackie asked and Phoebe forced herself to smile as she couldn't let anyone know what something was wrong. Right now she was still keeping the whole pregnancy thing under wraps with only herself and her father knowing. Phoebe knew she was going to have to tell her family about the baby and what had happened with Ian as she was soon approaching the end of her first trimester. She was no eleven weeks pregnant and eventually Phoebe was going to start showing the further along she got in her pregnancy. But Phoebe was scared no matter how much she didn't want to admit it as she was going to be a single mom. Both Danny and Erin had been married before they had kids and Phoebe wasn't married. Her boyfriend had taken off because he couldn't deal with this situation, leaving her all alone. Unlike her siblings Phoebe didn't wasn't married and didn't have a partner to help her out and even though her dad told her that she wouldn't be alone in having this baby Phoebe still felt alone. Not to mention slightly ashamed about how messed up her life currently was. She was bringing a baby into the world born out of wedlock and she was worried about what her family would say. Phoebe knew that she was being crazy in thinking that her family would judge and think the worst of her but she couldn't help herself. This was not the way she had planned on starting a family and yet it was happening.

"Yeah I'm fine just feeling a bit light headed as I skipped lunch to finish the autopsy and I guess my body is catching up to me. Don't worry I'll be okay." Phoebe replied as she started the nausea start to settle down. Phoebe was very much hoping that this would all end once her first trimester was over as she wasn't sure she could carry on like this for the next six months.

"You sure Pheebs?" Danny asked.

"I'm good." Phoebe replied in a reassuring manner more for Danny's sake then her own.

"So we've got a victim who was being poisoned and was days away from dying when he's gunned down in the middle of the subway. Why shoot him if he's being poisoned?" Jackie questioned.

"Maybe they got tired of waiting and decided to speed things up or there is the possibility that we are dealing with two separate people." Danny debated and Phoebe admitted that both of those theories were plausible and even though she was no lawyer, Phoebe had worked closely with the district attorney's office and knew enough about the law to know that if there were two people involved in Luka Mitchell's death then the shooter could be charged with manslaughter as their shooting of Luka Mitchell caused the fall that led to his earth. Then the pensioner could be charged with murder as it was the poison was a critical contribution to how the victim dies. It was rare but Phoebe had heard of cases where two separate people were charged with the same crime. If this case got to trial it was going to be interesting.

"Well since I've provided you with the cause of Mr. Mitchell's death Danny, you don't need my services anymore until you hopefully find the antifreeze used to poison him as I'm not about guess work Danny, I'm about science and facts. I'll send you my final report as soon as I can…"


End file.
